another expensive extension to policy

[lizzie]

My site build insurance runs out on 9th March I dont anticipate sign off until end March early April. Very frustrating  as have had to take 3 another months to 8th June grrrrrr

 

I so wish I had taken 2 years at the start would have been much cheaper

 

Has anyone used Buildzone for their insurance on building and contents once signed off?

[TerryE]

Lizzie, quite a few of use have been caught by this: quite good initial terms but huge price hikes for extensions.  As you say, it would have been a lot cheaper to buy the insurance upfront, but it's now too late to beat yourself up about it.   The point is that a build insurance has to cover a lot of risks that you don't face in a completed house.  We just transferred our standard house insurance to the new house when we moved in, because the build was finished by then.  A year's standard insurance was about the same price as a 3-month extension to the self-build insurance.  But don't do this before you've finished the building work or moved in because you might find that your insurer is unwilling to meet a claim in these circumstances.

 

Have a trawl of the site.  There's been lots of past threads on this.

[Vijay]

I'm with Selbuildzone and just renewed for another year. Their initial quote was an extra £400 from last year but a quick call and they reduced it, so it was only an extra £40 from last years quote

[lizzie]

£369 for a quarter...was the same last Dec when I took a quarter on the assurance it would be finished by Feb.......think my premium for the whole year I took initially was about £650 so proportionately very hugh.

 

C’est la vie!

[PeterW]

@lizzie who provided the assurance and who is causing delays ..? Have you mentioned consequential loss to your builder. .?

[lizzie]

To be fair it was probably me!  I worked it out, and assured myself I think, everyone else was hopeful but guarded weather etc. Wishful thinking as it turns out but November/December was a difficult time in areas unconnected to house build.LOL

[ProDave]

I renewed mine last May abut £450 for the year, I will no doubt be buying another year in May.

 

Do England do the equivalent of a "certificate of temporary habitation"?  If so that will enable you to move to standard buildings and content insurance.

[lizzie]

No I dont they do one as far as I know. The sign off cuts off the vat reclaim too so need to make sure all is done by the time that ends.... plus I’m renting a house.....

Edited February 12, 2018 by lizzie
pressed to soon

[epsilonGreedy]

On 2/12/2018 at 19:48, ProDave said:

I renewed mine last May abut £450 for the year, I will no doubt be buying another year in May.

 

Do England do the equivalent of a "certificate of temporary habitation"?  If so that will enable you to move to standard buildings and content insurance.

 

I phoned the Building Control office for the local authority covering my potential plot yesterday and was told they do not exercise control or require an interim inspection prior to temporary habitation. In contrast down on the South Coast near Portsmouth a pre occupation inspection is performed = https://www.buildingcontrolpartnershiphants.gov.uk/starting_work/inspections_required/intro.aspx 

 

Any chance your could arrange a friendly Jacobite invasion to knock some sense into the chaotic situation south of the border?

 

p.s.  Who provided your site insurance for £450? Would I be right in thinking you have pared down coverage to core essentials?

[Ian]

@lizzie

When I was nearing the end of my build I was in a similar situation to you. About 2 months from completion I found I was able to get normal house insurance even though I didn’t yet have a Building Regs completion certificate. Damage etc to the building etc caused by “construction work” was excluded so it may not suit your own situation but all I had left was low risk work.

I went through an insurance broker and the cost was £185 for a years cover. Let me know if you want me to PM their details to you.

 

Ian

[lizzie]

@Ian yes please brokers details would be great thanks

[TerryE]

We have got our completion cert yet, even though the house itself is done and we are living in it.  We have some groundworks outside that are covered by the planning application and want to do this zero-rated -- which we can't if we've "completed" our build.  I did ping my BCO, about a certificate of temporary habitation, but he didn't even bother replying, so we just moved in, and took out normal insurance.

[Jeremy Harris]

When faced with an extortionate demand for an extension to our site insurance, I found a broker who went through exactly what sort of cover we really needed.  As there was no more "building site" as such, no scaffolding and none of the outdoor risks normally associated with building (diggers, other plant moving around etc), and as the house and garage was secure and almost complete, they found an insurer who was prepared to provide unoccupied buildings cover that met our needs and was around 1/3rd the cost of a normal site policy.

 

I took great delight in telling Buildstore to stuff it.  Their fees are so extortionate that I'm surprised no one has come along to seriously undercut them, as they don't seem to add any more value than a good broker.

[Guest Alphonsox]

8 hours ago, TerryE said:

We have got our completion cert yet, even though the house itself is done and we are living in it.  We have some groundworks outside that are covered by the planning application and want to do this zero-rated -- which we can't if we've "completed" our build.  I did ping my BCO, about a certificate of temporary habitation, but he didn't even bother replying, so we just moved in, and took out normal insurance.

 

Are your "normal" insurers aware that you don't have a completion certificate yet ? I found most weren't interested in insuring us when when I mentioned this.

[Jeremy Harris]

1 hour ago, Alphonsox said:

 

Are your "normal" insurers aware that you don't have a completion certificate yet ? I found most weren't interested in insuring us when when I mentioned this.

 

 

That was my experience, too, which is why I ended up ringing around and finding a broker that could get an insurer to provide appropriate cover.  What we actually got was a modified version of an insurance policy for major restoration works, that included all the required re-building cost cover plus a load of other stuff, but allowed for the building to be unoccupied for periods.   The only stipulation was that the building had to be secure and weathertight.

 

 

[mvincentd]

I've just arranged to extend mine with Protek and it was pretty much pro-rata the original policy.

[newhome]

I also found a policy, via a broker, that would insure my home, and contents, before the completion certificate was issued. My build took a few years longer than planned due to my husband’s illness but the main structural work was complete and it was just the fitting out that was still in progress. I explained everything to the broker in detail so as not to be faced with any non disclosure issues if I later needed to make a claim (I haven’t) and he sourced me a policy. 

 

I do not have accidental damage cover on my contents insurance as work was still going on, but that was acceptable to me. In fact many people who are having building work done on their home may unwittingly find that their standard buildings and content cover is compromised. 

 

Now that the work is finally complete I will move to another policy on renewal. 

 

 

[newhome]

Added to say that I had great difficulty trying to find a policy that suited my needs so in the end I went through a company called QuoteRack. I simply completed their online form detailing what I was looking for and subsequently 4 brokers called me, and I sourced a policy from there. My policy is with a household name but not one I could have sourced without a broker I believe. Remember though that when it comes to insurance full disclosure is imperative so don’t hold back on any details that may be relevant. 

 

https://www.quoterack.co.uk/

 

 

[PeterW]

+1 to QuoteRack for non-standard insurance of any type. I’ve used them a few times and they have a really broad broker network that does a very good job.